it's friyaaay! today i'm sharing our new favorite recipe for fig, bacon and brie grilled cheese sammies. [perfect for an upcoming football sunday or maybe a valentine's day brunch?!]

this recipe may sound kind of gourmet, but it's surprisingly accessible. just a couple ingredient swaps (all of which can be easily found and are totally affordable at heb) and you're elevated from a traditional grilled cheese, onto something that can be eaten at all hours. and it's just as quick and easy to make.

but to back it up, here's where we started: pinterest has been my go-to for finding recipes for a long time, but even better, it provides a great way to gather inspiration. as a newbie cook i find it to be a really helpful tool in figuring out which ingredients and flavors will blend well together without having to go through the painstaking process of trial and error.

in my recent search for bacon and brie yumminess, i stumbled across a whole bunch of ideas: a version of this sandwich where you use waffles instead of bread (zomg.) a flatbread that contained similar ingredients, and was topped off with arugula. ultimately, it was a fig, bacon and honeycrisp apple salad that helped us pull the whole meal together.

*not feeling figs? i think that flavor nicely toes the line of savory and sweet, but you can always swap it out for strawberry, raspberry, jam etc.

saladmixed greenshoney roasted pecanshoneycrisp applessalad dressing

| method |

cook bacon over medium heat until crispy, and set aside on a paper towel lined plate to drain. smooth butter on top of both sides of bread and flip the slices over. add a thin layer of jam to the opposite sides of the bread. top one of the slices with brie and bacon pieces and top with the other slice of bread to make a sandwich.

drain the bacon drippings from the pan and add a pat of butter. place your assembled sandwich in the pan, and cook over medium heat on both sides until bread is toasty and cheese is melted.